Improvement in car-axle boxes



UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

WELLSLY W. CRANE, OF AUBURN, NEW YORK.

IMPROVEMENT m CAR-AXLE eoxeg.

Specification forming part of Letters Patent No. 138,794, dated May 13,1873; application filed April 12, 1873.

To all whom it may concern.-

Be it known that I, WELLsLY W. CRANE, of Auburn, in the county of Cayugaand in the State of New York, have invented certain new and usefulImprovements in Car-Axle Lubricator; and do hereby declare that thefollowing is a full, clear, and exact description thereof, referencebeing had to the accompanying drawing and to the letters of referencemarked thereon making a part of this specification.

The nature of my invention consists in the construction and arrangementof a self-lubricatin g car-axle box, as will be hereinafter more fullyset forth. 1

In order to enable others skilled in the art to which my inventionappertains to make and use the same, Iwill now proceed to describe itsconstruction and operation, referring to the annexed drawing, in which-Figure 1 is a longitudinal vertical section of my axle-box, and Figs. 2and 3 are detached views of certain parts thereof.

A represents the shell of my box which is made substantially in the samemanner as the axle-boxes now ordinarily used, with the exception that itis about one inch and a half deeper. This is done for the followingreason: On curves one side of the track is about six inches higher thanthe other side and hence while the cars are passing around such curveone end of a ten-inch box is raised about one inch than the other, andas a consequence the oil will all flow to the lower end and flush out.But by making the box as much deeper, as above stated, the oil will haveroom to flow to either end without reaching above the lower edge of theaxle-hole, and therefore will not leak through. The front side of thebox or shell A has two openings, closed oil-tight, by suitable platesand packing. B represents the bearing-block, and C the step plate, asordinarily used above the axle E. Below the axle is a plain roller, D,revolving upon a spindle, or, within a casing or shield, G, which issupported by spring posts b b or other suitable means, on the bottom ofthe box A, so as to hold the roller D close up to and against the axleE. The shield G is open at the top, bottom, and front end, and thespindle a is firm- 1y secured in the rear end of the shield, as

are'vertical flanges d d, which prevent the splashing of the oil fromend to end of the box as the car jolts. When the car is in motion theroller D is rapidlyv revolved on its spindle by the friction of the axleE, and draws the oil up with it to lubricate the axle. The tendency ofthe roller would, however, be to throw the oil outward by thecentrifugal action; but the shield surrounding the sides of the rollerand the sides of the shield extending up a short distance on the sidesof the axle, prevents this outward motion of the oil, and causes the oilto run up on the axle in a perfect continuous sheet, the roller actingas a I pump drawing the oil up on one side, and delivering it to theaxle. e e are small passages radially through the roller D to lubricatethe spindle a. At the rear end of the shield G is an inclinedsemicircular lip or spout, h, which extends under the axle through theaxle op'ening in the rear end of the box A, as shown in.

this lip are wings 6 extending downward on the sides of the axle. Thebox I is to be packed with cork or some suitable fibrous material, andanswers two very important purposes. It is a perfect dust-protector, asthe packing around the axle prevents the dust from passing in, and asthe box vibrates with the axle and moves with it when the bearingblock Bwears, it also in connection with the lips h and m prevents the oil fromleaking out around the axle. As the oil passes around the axle and comesagainst the rear end of the box A the greatest part of it is carried.down by the lip m and its wings t i, and then by the lip it down intothe bottom of the axlebox A. Any oil that may leak through is taken upby the packing in the box I and soaks through said packing, and thenthrough holes at in the bottom of said box. I, and through passages 0down into the axle-box again.

The packing-box I is made in two parts, as shown in Fig.3, connected bybolts 12 1), so that they can readily be removed when necessary byunscrewing said bolts without removin g the axle-box or in any waydisturbing the car or axle; The bolts 19 p are held by nuts 5 s, andextend a suitable distance above said nuts with a plate, J, slipped overthe upper ends of the bolts to hold the packing down, said plate beingforced downward by springs t t on the bolts held by nuts 00 00.

Having thus fully described my invention, what I claim as new, anddesire to secure by Letters Patent, is-

1. In combination with a box, A, provided with an extension, H, theremovable packingbox I made in two parts, connected by the bolts 11 p,and covered by the plate J, all subitantially as and for the purposesherein set orth.

WELLSLY W. CRANE.

Witnesses:

A. N. MARR, U. L. EVERT.

